Records that survive
These are the record series in the Oregon State Archives' inventory of Jefferson County's records, with where each is kept now (the State Archives, a county office, or a local museum or library) and the earliest and latest years. A span can include gaps. The county's inventory was taken in October 2017.
Marriages, births and deaths
- Delayed Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1880–1984
- Marriage Records · State Archives, local offices and online1882–1961
- Birth Records · State Archives and local offices1886–1944
- Death Records · State Archives and online1886–1963
Deeds and land
- Mining Claim Records · local offices and online1850–1994
- Surveyor Field Notes and Plats · local offices and online1850–2013
- Federal Land Grant Records · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage, local offices and online1854–1957
- Deeds and Indexes · local offices1864–1985
- Corner Survey Records · local offices and online1869–1988
- Land Title Registers · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage and local offices1870–1949
- Mortgage Records · local offices1874–1985
- Road Maps and Survey Notes · local offices1878–1996
- Land Subdivision Records · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage, local offices and online1899–2007
- Water Rights Records · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage and local offices1908–1987
- Foreclosure Records · local offices1911–1962
- Tax Lot Cards · local offices1965–2005
Wills and estates
- Probate Registers · local offices1883–1986
- Probate Case Files · local offices1893–2000
- Probate Estate Records · local offices1909–1919
Naturalization
- Naturalization Declarations of Intention · State Archives, Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage and online1914–1949
- Naturalization Petitions and Orders · State Archives and Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage1914–1953
- Naturalization Certificates · State Archives1915–1928
Military and pensions
- Pension and Relief Records · local offices1915–1935
- Military Records · local offices1920–2015
Tax records
- Assessment and Tax Rolls · local offices and online1910–2003
Census
- Census Records · local offices and online1920–1930
Elections and voters
- Election Voting Abstracts · local offices1916–1972
Court records
- Circuit Court Dockets · local offices1883–1996
- County Court Judicial Journals · local offices1883–1960
- Judgment and Execution Records · local offices1883–1965
- Circuit Court Case Files · local offices1910–1984
- Attachment Records · local offices1911–1989
- Justice Court Dockets · local offices1911–1943
- Circuit Court Journals · local offices1915–1983
- County Court Case Files · local offices1915–1945
- Insane Commitment Records · local offices1915–1985
- Justice Court Case Files · local offices1915–1945
- Coroner and Inquest Records1916–1962
- Adoption Records · local offices1927–2011
- Prisoner Registers · local offices1929–1968
Schools
- School District Records · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage and local offices1900–1970
- Superintendent of Schools Records · local offices1915–1967
Other records
- Road and Bridge Records · local offices1878–1996
- Clerk and Recorder Miscellaneous Recordings · local offices1881–1986
- County Commissioners Administrative Journals · local offices and online1899–2017
- Maps, Plans, and Drawings · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage, local offices and online1912–2017
- Marks and Brands Records · local offices1915–1935
- County Officials Reports · local offices1916–1971
- Medical Profession Registration Records · local offices1916–1972
- Farm Name Registration Records · local offices1919–1961
- Animal Bounty Records · State Archives1920–1955
- County Budgets · local offices1920–2016
- County Commissioners Orders, Ordinances, and Resolutions · local offices and online1930–2017
- County Fair Records · local offices1934–2016
- Aerial Photographs · Jefferson County Historical Society Westside Elementary School Storage and local offices1938–1990
- Planning Commission Minutes · local offices1961–2017
- and 3 more series in the full listing
See the full inventory at the Oregon State Archives
Source: Oregon State Archives, Oregon Historical County Records Guide. Records can move after an inventory is taken, so ask before you visit. Oregon began statewide registration of births and deaths in 1903.
Where to find the records
- Jefferson County official website
Hours, addresses and phone numbers for the county clerk and the circuit court, and any online record search the county offers.
- The county clerk
Deeds and other land records, and marriage licenses and records.
- The circuit court
Civil and criminal cases, divorces, adoptions and, in most counties, wills and estates. In a few counties the county court still handles probate, and elsewhere older probate records may carry the county court's name.
- The Oregon State Archives
In Salem: older county records moved from the courthouses (many probate, court and naturalization files), the Oregon Historical Records Index, and the records of the provisional and territorial governments.
- Oregon State Archives: Jefferson County records inventoryfree
Every record series the archives inventoried for this county, with each volume's years and where it's kept.
- Oregon Historical Records Indexfree
Search by name for probate, divorce, naturalization and other county records the State Archives has indexed.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Oregon, Jefferson" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Crook County
Check the parent county for earlier records: Crook County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1914, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Settlers who reached Oregon by December 1, 1855 could claim land under the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 and its amendments; the earliest arrivals could claim the most. The claim files, at the National Archives, often give a settler's birth date and birthplace and the date and place of a marriage, because a married couple could claim twice as much land. Earlier provisional government land claims (1845–1849) are at the Oregon State Archives.